Amazingly, I think it's going to be harder for me to sum up what I've been learning in South Africa, than it was for me to share what I learned during the 2 and a half months I was in Guatemala.

I'm going to be honest, this country has been hard. I came here with the heartbreak of saying goodbye to Mitch and the rest of the Squad, and it's shadowed my whole time here. I haven't had the comfort of a set schedule, or the cooler temperature I'm familiar with. I've struggled with being so exhausted I can hardly think, yet I'm getting plenty of sleep. And missing major holidays and events with my family has been weighing on me heavier than ever.

But through all of this, God is good, and He teaches me things through every one of these "struggles", which are really just opportunities to see light in darkness.

Through missing the Squad, God's been teaching me to be so grateful that He never leaves. He's been helping me to constantly turn my thoughts to Him every time I miss anybody, and so I feel much closer to Him than before, and I also feel a new appreciation for the people I'm spending my 9 months with!

The changing schedule helps me be appreciative that God never changes, and that He can help me to be in interruptable and adjustable!

The constant heat has been teaching me to find beauty and comfort in the fact that God created the heat and the cold. I may have a preference for one over the other, but the same God created them both, so it's all good!

The constant exhaustion is teaching me to press into God for supernatural energy and focus, because it's so clear I can't do it on my own. I need to constantly be rebuking the exhaustion and thanking God for every awake moment I have, and this keeps my thoughts constantly on Him. It's forced prayer without ceasing😆

The missing my family has been increasing my gratitude for how perfect the family God has given me is, and while it's been hard, I'm excited to go back and see everything ordinary with new eyes, and be able to appreciate everything so much deeper than I ever have before!

I'm learning to relate with people I have very little in common with. I'm learning to love sharing God's love with kids. I'm learning to find peace in solitude and in chaos.

God's been teaching me so much during this month, and it's been so good to see more of His character!